Saira Khan's husband Steve opens up about their sex life

Saira Khan's husband is disappointed his wife didn't think he'd be "patient" and wait for her to become interested in sex again.

The 'Loose Women' panellist shocked the public when she revealed she had told her husband Steve Hyde he could sleep with someone else as she wasn't interested in getting intimate.

Speaking on the ITV show on Friday (20.01.16), he said: "I felt really troubled, I felt heartbroken that she'd got to such a low point that she felt the need to say something.

"I think it was really heartbreaking to think all the things we've been through. It's like a mini marathon. You start off, everyone has troubles and difficulties. So we both started businesses the year after we got married, we went through infertility, we adopted. Of course, it was challenging me as a white bloke from London marrying a Muslim girl; that in itself was a challenge right from the beginning.

"So we'd been through a lot and I kind of would have hoped that she'd actually have thought, 'You know what, we're in this situation at the moment and Steve will be patient.'"

And whilst some were quick to suggest there might be trouble in their marriage, Steve has insisted they are still "massively close".

He added: "We're massively close and I think we've got a really good marriage and a great family."

Steve also revealed he has no desire to be in some sort of "open relationship" and joked that his close pals "helped" him deal with the intense media speculation by taking the mick out of him.

He said: "I've been amazed by some of the reactions. I mean, the hardest part has been just facing the press reaction; the way that suddenly I'm splashed on the front page of papers and the insinuation was that I was in this open relationship environment and it's complete nonsense. I would never ever contemplate being in that sort of relationship.

"My close friends have been absolutely fantastic. Most of the lads that I know were really quick to take the mickey. It helped."